It Takes A Great Deal Of Bravery
by RunningGolden
Summary: She was a Slytherin, a future Death Eater. She was a bad person waiting to be killed. Who knew that being arranged a seat beside Neville Longbottom would shine such light to the person she hid inside? DISCONTINUED
1. Failures and Cowards

_BREAKING NEWS:_

 _Purebloods Zacariah Reeds and Harriet Reeds, confirmed Death Eaters, were found dead by the train station, King's Cross, on the eve of July 21_ _st_ _. They were stricken by the worst of the Unforgiveable curses, the killing curse. What is more, their dark marks were burned off, suggesting they were killed by fellow death eaters. Not much more is given to the press, but rumors have been flying around that the Reeds had been planning to flee the country, therefore betraying their death eater duties, which must've resolved in their death._

Traitors.

Cowards.

Mud-blood lovers.

She'd heard it all. Even before going back to Hogwarts, she would hear it whispered on the streets. Her parents were caught running away from the Dark Lord and were killed on the spot, and everyone knew. She was sick of it. She was sick of people recognizing her and looking at her with disgust or suspicion. She was sick of her own house hating her guts, so she tried to stay low. Get on an empty carriage on the train, sit alone at dinner, and keep her head low. She didn't talk to her friends. She was aware of the stares and she put all her anger and sadness into holding up a good façade and glaring at anyone who came close to her.

It was the first day of classes and she could already tell this year would be hell. Snape was headmaster, everything was gloomy and quiet, and all classes had _arranged seating._ Which means the teacher would choose who sit together, which is why she wasn't exactly surprised that Snape put her all the way in the back in DADA, beside the only one he considered as much of a failure and a coward as her, Neville Longbottom.

Now, she did not consider Longbottom a coward, not at all. She had had a slight admiration for him since first year, when Dumbledore gave him 10 points for his bravery.

" _It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends."_

She didn't know at the time how important these words would become to her. It was what had been plaguing her mind for the past two years. Every time she'd admire Gryffindors for their bravery, Hufflepuff for their good hearts and Ravenclaw for their strong minds, she would think of those words. Of course, not all Slytherins were that bad, but they lived in a time where Slytherins chose their friends carefully. There was too much tension and fear for healthy relationships. Sure, her friends were decent people and cared for her, in their own way, but they had strong beliefs, beliefs she used to blindly follow. So she pretended, pretended to agree with them, pretended to hate, all whilst her mind reeled with what was right and what was wrong.

That was back when she thought she had a chance, thought she could have a different future. But she came from a respected pureblood family, a line of proud death eaters.

So she had no choice but to become one.

She didn't know when, but she knew she would be recruited, and she knew what would happen if she denied, especially when her family tree was already standing on such shaky ground with her parent's actions.

Her thoughts were corrupted when her fellow failure, to Snape's eyes, ran into class, five minutes late.

"I see you're starting the year with disappointing us all, like usual, Mr. Longbottom." Snape drawled. Longbottom turned red and muttered out a quick 'Sorry, Headmaster Snape'. It was subtle, but she could hear his voice grow slightly cold at the word 'Headmaster'. Snape squinted at him but turned back to the board to write notes.

"10 points from Gryffindor, take a seat Mr. Longbottom." Longbottom looked around the classroom to find his seat, quickly finding the only empty spot next to her and made a quick dash towards it. A few inches away from his seat, he suddenly froze and she glanced at him to see him staring at her Slytherin tie in slight fear.

Oh, come on. It wasn't like she was going to bite him. She felt a strange weight settle over her at his nervousness, but chose to ignore it. Rolling her eyes, she looked back down to her desk. He sat down a moment later and moved his chair slightly away from her.

 _Merlin's beard._

Taking a deep breath, she noticed her hands were slightly shaking over her parchment. What was she so nervous about? I mean, it's just Longbottom. One of the few people in Hogwarts she respected, not that she'd ever talked to him. _Maybe that's the thing,_ she wondered. What if he knew who she is? What did he think of her? Soon-to-be Death Eater with cowardly parents? A coward herself, perhaps?

"Can I, uh, can I borrow a quill? A voice muttered hesitantly beside her. She, embarrassingly, jumped in her seat as Longbottom disrupted her thoughts and looked up at him. His face was pale as he looked her in the eye and he fidgeted in his seat.

"What?" She immediately scolded herself at her vulnerable tone and cleared her throat as her eyes strayed forward, pretending to check if Snape had heard them.

"A quill, I forgot mine" his voice had dropped to a whisper and his eyes kept trailing down to her tie nervously. "You know what, its fine, forget I said anything." He nervously added and looked down at the empty parchment on his desk. Furrowing her brows, she reached into her bag and put her spare quill on his desk with an empty smile and focused back on her notes. Out of the corner of her eye she saw him pick up the quill and just hold it in mid-air as his eyes bored into the side of her face. After a whole minute of trying to ignore him, she finally caved and looked up at him, meeting his confusion with her own.

"What?" she finally asked, and she saw a faint blush color his cheeks as he looked towards the front of the classroom and back at her again and suddenly she saw suspicion dawn in his eyes.

"…Really, nothing? No comment? No insult or something?" he whispered, glancing at his pen as if it might explode on him. Oh, he found it strange she wasn't being mean to him. She felt protective walls rise up around her heart and alarm bells blaring in her mind. Not hanging out with her friends anymore had made her forget the attitude she was used to pretend having. She gave an empty chuckle.

"You Gryffindors just _love_ stereotypes, don't you?" she drawled, going with the first insult she could think of, hunching over her parchment to copy the notes off the board. He was silent for a moment and she gave herself an imaginary pat on the back but it turned out she celebrated too soon.

"You're one to talk." He snarled at her. She felt her heart crash into her stomach. Yes, she insulted him, but she wasn't exactly expecting him to return the favor. This was Longbottom, he rarely insulted anyone, furthermore _snarl_ at anyone.

So he did know who she was.

She cursed herself as she felt tears sting her eyes. _Why? No, not here, stop it, pull yourself together Aya!_ Trying to control her breathing, she looked up at him with the blankest face she could muster.

"If you don't want to use it then don't use it, I don't care." She tried to keep her voice strong but she felt it waver and considering the way his eyebrows raised, she knew he noticed. She quickly went back to her notes and ignored him for rest of the class, not that he tried to talk to her again, but she could feel his stares. He did end up using the quill after several minutes and put it on her desk when the bell rang.

She hoisted her bag onto her shoulder and was about to leave when a voice stopped her.

"Reeds, isn't it?" she turned around begrudgingly to glare at Longbottom but was surprised at the regret in his eyes. She nodded slowly. "I'm sorry." He muttered, his hazel eyes seeming softer than before, but still guarded. She was surprised, and looked around the room to see if any of her housemates saw her standing and talking to him. Most seemed to be gone or headed for the door. "And I'm…I'm also sorry for your loss." He added and her head whipped back to stare at him, confusion and shock shining through her façade.

He was _sorry?_ Her parents were Death Eaters, he shouldn't be sorry? He's a member of the Order of the Phoenix, he should be relieved if anything! But she couldn't see any indication that he was lying and she honestly wouldn't know why he would be anyway.

They stared at each other for a few moments, each studying the other. The sunlight shining in through the windows made his skin glow and his dark locks looked softer up close. His eyes roamed over her face and he seemed to tense up, as if expecting her to yell at him, or worse, hit him. The sudden realization that he was legitimately scared of her caused regret and self-disgust to flow through her veins. She didn't want to be the kind of person that scared the pure-hearted boy, not at all.

She didn't want to.

Why had it taken so long to register? All the pretending, all the dreaming of a different future, all this time that she felt out of place and wrong and it never occurred to her that she didn't want to be _this._ She didn't want to be _wrong._

Was she a bad person?

Yes.

But did she want to?

…No.

She finally looked down at the quill in her hand, the one she'd borrowed him. Taking a deep breath and step closer, she handed it to him.

"Take it, you need it more than I do." She explained as she saw his bemused expression. It was a lie, that was her only spare quill, so she'd be screwed if she lost her main one, but she felt the overwhelming need to do something nice for him. Before he could respond she walked towards the door again, but stopped quickly without turning around.

"Longbottom? …Thank you." Her whisper was so quiet she wasn't sure if he had heard her and she didn't bother to look as she finally walked out of the classroom.

* * *

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	2. Lavender and Lime Flower

„ _Take me with you." She begged._

„ _Aya, dear, you know we can't." Her mother sighed for what felt like the umpteenth time._

„ _You have to finish your education." Her father added, adjusting his hat, the wrinkles on his forehead looking deeper than ever._

„ _Screw my education, what if he recruits me?" Tears stung her eyes but she refused to let them fall._

„ _He won't, you're too young..." Her mother whispered, sounding as if she was trying to convince herself._

„… _And if he does, stall it until graduation, then you can follow our example and come find us." Her father advised as he gave her a firm hug and a kiss on the head. Her heart went racing at the thought of dealing with it all with her horrible aunt by her side and not her parents._

„ _You want me to run away?" her mind stalled it's racing at the thought of leaving. It felt strange, she didn't want to leave, even though staying would likely mean her doom._

„ _Not run away, starting a new life, a new beginning away from the war." Her father rushed as he threw the last trunk in the car. Her mother pulled her into a hug and Aya felt a sudden tug at her stomach and the urge to vomit as she was apperated somewhere. Looking up, she saw her aunt's house standing at the end of the road and she shivered. She felt a hand stroke her cheek and she looked up into her mother's teary eyes, willing herself to be strong._

„ _Promise me you'll write." She could barely hear her own voice as she hugged her mother one last time._

„ _As soon as we're able." The last thing she saw was her mother's sad smile before a loud_ zap _sounded and she was gone._

* * *

She woke up to loud whispering in her dorm room. Rubbing away the dried tears on her cheeks, she kept her eyes closed for a moment, wanting to see her parents for a little longer. Her chest ached of hearing their voices in her head but the whispering on the other side of the room was growing louder, disrupting her thoughts. Raising her head and opening her eyes, she saw her roommates seemingly arguing at the door.

"No, you have no idea! She will prove you both wrong! She has a plan and he will…" A way too familiar voice sounded but trailed off as the brown eyes belonging to it found hers and stilled.

Velda Casey.

Aya had never had a best friend, per say, but Velda came the closest. She suddenly came into her life in second year and wouldn't go away, and besides from her, sometimes, hateful slurs, she was pleasant company. Except when she decided she couldn't be seen with her in public after the incident with her parents.

The other girls followed her gaze and immediately glared as their eyes set on Aya. Picking up their bags, they left the room as if nothing had transpired there.

"I'll be there in a sec, I need to do my hair." Velda called after them. Sitting up, Aya concluded she had another restless sleep, as a headache immediately grew behind her temples. Rubbing them shortly, she got up and pulled on some clothes, vividly aware of the form slowly moving closer to her.

"Aya…" Velda whispered, but she didn't spare her a glance as she strode to the bathroom and locked the door. "Aya, please…you know I have no choice." Her former friend pleaded through the door. She stubbornly brushed her teeth so she wouldn't be able to reply. After a long moment of silence she assumed she had left and went to wash her face.

"I've seen you've been talking to Longbotton during DADA." Velda piped up, sounding casual but she could detect the coldness in her voice. Aya stilled. It was true; Longbottom wouldn't leave her alone since that first class a month ago, always piping up a conversation about whatever he could think of. At first she was vary and ignored him, but eventually caved the morning when he starting talking about his favorite types of plants. There was something in his voice that she couldn't resist but listen to and she found that she enjoyed the way his eyes sparkled when talking about plant life. She had never seen anyone so passionate in her life and she felt an immense tug towards him.

"Yeah, so? It's not like you're talking to me." She bit out as she shook herself out of her thoughts. Drying off and moisturizing, she waited for the apologies to rain, but they never did.

Fiercely opening the door, she strode past Velda to retrieve her bag, not caring about her hair or face; she was late as it was.

"You know this is a perfect opportunity, don't you?" She wasn't expecting the delicacy in Velda's voice, and she wasn't expecting her excited expression either as she turned around.

"What?" She breathed.

"You're befriending Longbottom!" Velda squealed. Aya's brows furrowed and she felt a strange knot grow in her stomach.

"I wouldn't call it-" She started.

"This is your shot at redemption!" Velda was stepped towards her and tried to take her hand but Aya flinched away. She had a bad feeling about this but she couldn't figure out why.

"Again, what?" She was sure she looked like a lost dog.

"Don't you see? This is brilliant! You're an outcast now, your parents defied the Dark Lord! He will have an easier time to trust you than anyone else!" Velda's smile threatened to jump off her face as horrible realization washed over her.

"Vel, you're not suggesting I'm-"

"Yes, I am! Aya, I know you, you're brilliant when you need to be, and can I just say, excellent choice going with Longbottom, he's definitely the most gullible, dim-witted member of the Order!" She laughed, a proud look on her face. Noting her disgusted and shocked look, she rolled her eyes. "Don't be so modest, you don't fool me."

"Vel, I…No!" She sputtered. She didn't know why, but Vel's dig at Longbottom made her blood boil at an unreasonable rate for someone who's supposed to hate him. "Vel, we're just talking about the class subject, nothing else!" That was a lie, but she didn't feel comfortable knowing Velda knew so much already. Were they that obvious? They were at the back of the room, she thought she was safe!

"Mhmm…" Velda hummed, obviously not believing her. "Sure, but don't say I didn't know when the Dark Lord makes you his personal agent of the Order." Her smirk almost made Aya as sick as her assumption. She would rather die than give valuable information to _him_! Wait, did she just think that?

"Whatever." She murmured and left the room, feeling a horrible sense of dread set in her heart.

* * *

She managed to slip into class, just as the bell rang and made it to her table relatively safe and puffing out breaths after her run, hastily pulling her short, brown hair into a somewhat bun.

"Late morning?" Longbottom asked with an amused smile.

"Shut up." She huffed, but couldn't resist smiling back. Their moment was interrupted by a familiar drawl at the front of class that declared he was handing out their essays. She suddenly felt something being pushed into her hand under the table. Looking confused up at Longbottom, she saw him smile nervously.

"It's tea, lavender and lime flower, grown in the greenhouses." He explained.

"Okay…and I'm getting this why?" she asked and internally winced. He was giving her tea and she was asking him why? Well she was confused, but still, it was rude. Longbottom played with his quill nervously as he opened and closed his mouth a few times before actually getting some words out.

"Well, I've noticed you've been kind of…tired lately." He finished, wincing as he spoke, as if he thought he was being over the line. His eyes were gauging hers for a reaction but Aya only stared at him, not really comprehending the fact that he noticed that she was sleep deprived and got her something for it. _Why?_ _Why did he care enough to do that?_

"Miss. Reeds." A voice startled her out of her reverie and she looked at Snape as he put her essay on the table, a bright 'Acceptable' staring up at her. She guessed it could have been worse. Snape didn't spare her a glance as he turned to Longbottom. "Mr. Longbottom, looks like your grades are resembling your contribution to our society." He jeered as he threw his essay on his table; a clear 'Dreadful' written on the top right-hand corner. Longbottom withered from embarrassment as the Slytherin's around them snickered, and Aya felt rage rise up in her chest. Pulling his essay towards her, she quickly scanned it as Snape continued down the row, ignoring the confused boy beside her.

"Excuse me, Head Master Snape, but I think you've made a mistake." She called out over the classroom, her anger giving her a strange sense of confidence. Snape turned towards her, his permanent scowl deepening.

"What was that, Miss. Reeds?" He swiftly made his way over, glaring her down, but he didn't intimidate her in the slightest as she picked up her quill and pointed it towards the first paragraph of the essay.

"Well, you asked us to explain to you why the Unforgivable curses are unforgivable sir, and right here Mr. Longbottom points out their severities, just as I did in mine, but still you gave him a minus but not me." She didn't know she had missed her cold, know-it-all tone, but using it at this moment almost made her smirk. The twitch in his eye almost made her laugh, but she continued before he could reply.

"And right here, here and here," She crossed under a few sentences, oblivious to warning and panicked looks Longbottom tried to give her. "…are completely valid points from the book that you wrote down as 'wrong'. Then we have the conclusion, that I must say, is much better than mine, and I got an 'Acceptable'. I honestly don't know why you would give this essay a 'Dreadful' Head Master as it's clearly good and even better than mine." She finished and smiled up at the steaming man in front of her. Her classmates looked at her in a mixture of shock and confusion as she met Snape's eyes with a challenging look in her eyes.

"Miss. Reeds, how _dare_ you question my method of teaching?" He snarled at her.

"Well, if your method of teaching is treating your students with unfair difference and giving wrong grades, then I think questioning them is rather important, actually." She kept her tone casual, preparing herself for the fall back.

"Detention. Tonight. 8 o'clock." He bit out and she just about to think she got out lucky when he added; "With the Creeds." She felt her heart sink at his evil sneer. "And if you ever speak to like that again Miss. Reeds, I will guarantee to move you to their 'Specials' list." She gulped. The 'Specials' were the ones the Creeds considered needed 'extra help' in their studies and she had heard horrible things about that class. Just last week she saw Seamus Finnigan wearing a cast on his leg and refused to tell anyone how he broke it.

Snape was gone with a swish of robes and she was left to stare begrudgingly at her table, pushing Longbottom's essay towards him again. She didn't see it, but she could hear him trying to say something.

"It was a good essay." She said with finality in her tone that shut him up for the rest of the class.

* * *

All she felt was pain and exhaustion as she sat on a hospital bed, holding a bag of ice to her face. She could still hear the Second year boy whimpering on the other side of the hospital wing, but he had considerably quieted down. Madam Pomfrey was currently tending the Fifth year that hadn't said a word since they arrived. Aya had told her to care for them first since she got out the luckiest, but Madam Pomfrey still insisted on getting her a bag of ice, which she was grateful for.

"Hey." She jumped out of the bed and dropped the bag of ice as a voice spoke beside her. Looking up, her heart calmed a bit to see Longbottom standing there with a sheepish smile. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He apologized.

"No, no, it's okay, I'm just a bit…jumpy." She explained awkwardly, regretting her words as she saw the guilty look on his face.

"Merlin, I shouldn't have let you get a detention for me, I'm so sorry-"

"Longbottom." She interrupted, shooting him a gentle, but strained, smile. "It's alright, I chose to get this detention, it was my doing, not yours." He didn't look convinced, but didn't say more, instead choosing to step closer in the moonlight to examine her face better, or more so, the bruises that littered it.

"Yeah, the Creeds find it amazingly funny to cast the Imperius curse on you and make you smash face first into walls." She remarked with a sarcastic tone, trying to not wince at all as she spoke. His frown deepened and he bent down to pick up the ice bag and handed it to her. She gave him another, quite hurtful though she wouldn't show it, smile.

"You shouldn't have done that for me." He whispered, eyes raking over her face with guilt. God, he was way too kind, he shouldn't be guilty about someone like her getting hurt.

"Longbottom." She deadpanned, looking into his eyes to get him to understand. "It was my pleasure." His face turned confused as he processed her words but she wouldn't let the moment last as she cleared her throat as sat back down. "So, why did you come here anyway, it's almost curfew." She kept her tone light and avoided eye contact.

"I, um, mostly to see if you were alright and to apologize." He whispered distractedly. The bed sunk a bit as he sat down beside her and for a while they remained silent, the only sounds were the whimpers of the boy and of Madam Pomfrey bustling about, who hadn't said a word about Longbottom being there, even if she swore she saw her glance their way a few times.

"What's your favorite plant?" He suddenly whispered.

"What?"

"Well… it's just I've realized I've talked to you about all my favorites but never asked you yours." He explained, his tone regretful. She couldn't help but chuckle, finding his thoughtfulness endearing.

"I, ah, I guess I've never thought of it, so I'm not quite sure." She smiled at him. He hummed, seemingly deep in thought.

"Well, what's your favorite subject then?" He asked after another moment of silence and she gave him a weird look.

"I don't know…Astronomy? What's with all the questions?" She wasn't sure through the darkness, but his cheeks looked a bit redder than normal.

"I don't know, I just wanted to know something about you, I guess." He murmured, avoiding her gaze. Her heart jumped at his words and she stared at him in confusion. Why would he want that? "Why do you like Astronomy?" he asked and she decided to just go with it.

"Um, well, it's going to sound stupid, but I just…really love the stars." She said awkwardly.

"That doesn't sound stupid." She arched her eyebrow at him. "I really love plants! Being passionate about something isn't stupid." He explained with a giddy smile that absolutely melted her heart.

For the moment, she forgot everything she'd ever been taught and felt her chest swell as she smiled wider than she'd done in years.

* * *

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	3. Tea and Constellations

_A/N: Thank you to everyone for the support!_

 _IAmAVampireGirl and SB - Potterhead Budgie Lover, thanks for the awesome reviews! You're the best!_

* * *

"Hold on…I've never seen how Ursa Major is a bear?"

"Well, that's because you don't know the story! Look, according to Greek Mythology there was a nymph named Callisto. Zeus, just like with many other stories in Greek Mythology, fell in love with her and they had a child. But, when the lightning god brought the child to Hera, his wife, she _understandably_ got mad and turned Callisto into a bear. Time passed and years later Callisto and Zeus' son, Arcas, roamed the woods where Callisto lived. She tried to speak to him, but could only growl and Arcas prepared to attack her. To protect Callisto, Zeus turned Arcas into a bear and swung them by their tails into the northen sky, where they could live forever, _which…"_ She paused to draw the constellation on his parchment. "…Is why this part may confuse you." She pointed towards three stars that stretched out from the rest, creating a long line. "Their tails got longer when Zeus threw them; this is her tail." She ended with a smile.

"So, this is Callisto…and Ursa Minor is Arcas." Longbottom slowly concluded.

"Precisely!" She beamed, both from pride and from being able to talk about what she loved.

It was late into the evening as they sat in a secluded corner of the library. After they'd fished their homework, they got to talking about all bunch of stuff, completely forgetting the time. He started asking her questions about Astronomy and she was more than happy to explain, letting her guard down for once.

Looking out the window, she sighed happily as the beautiful serenity outside caught her attention. Snow blanketed everything it could get on, the setting sun cast a breathtaking glow over the grounds and she felt at peace.

She couldn't believe it was almost Christmas break. The months had gone by in a blur of homework, reading and detentions. She had found herself seeking out detentions with McGonagall and the other teachers at Hogwarts that gave 'normal' detentions. She found it much better to spend her evening scrubbing desks and pots instead of facing her housemates. Besides, she enjoyed cleaning. McGonagall had become slightly suspicious about her odd behavior but didn't say a word; hopefully she deduced this was her way of coping with her loss.

Then there was Longbottom. Something changed after the night at the hospital wing. They were careful not to be seen together too much, but after Snape's essay, Aya had insisted on helping him getting his homework perfect so he had no choice but to at least give him an 'Acceptable'. Longbottom's future depended on these grades, it was the least she could do. In return, he helped her with anything he could and they started to regularly meet up at the library, even if they didn't have homework.

A feeling that she was being watched broke through her thoughts and she looked to her side to see Longbottom staring at her.

"What?" she asked, taking another sip of her tea. After he'd noticed how well the tea worked for her, he kept bringing her more. She tried to get him to stop but to no avail, so it became their thing. She could be seen sipping tea numerous times of the day and Longbottom claimed it was enough for him just to see her much healthier and rested. Every time he said this; she blushed and every time he saw her with her teacup, he blushed as well.

"It's just…" He stuttered, distractedly scratching a cut on his cheeks. He had a lot of detentions with the Creeds, and her heart sunk every time he showed up with a new injury. Reaching out, she grabbed his hand to stop him.

"Stop that, you'll make it worse." She chided, shooting him gentle glare. His hand send tingles through hers and his cheeks turned red as he apologized with a sheepish smile. "Now, what were you saying?" She chuckled.

"You look…different. Happier." He whispered, meeting her eyes. His words made her freeze mid-sip and stare at him. Did she? Look happier? Was she…happy? She hadn't taken note of it yet, but she knew something was different. She felt… warmer, somehow. Breaking the rules to get detentions had grown on her, she even started to love it, constantly hiding her mischievous smiles. Having Longbottom, someone who talked about what actually interested her, someone who was nice and gentle, someone who cared for her health for whatever reason, it made her more excited for the day. He baffled her, that's for sure, and she didn't know how to react to it. So, she just let him do his thing, unaware of how important he was becoming to her. Yes, an unknown, pleasant ball of warmth was growing inside her cold chest, and even though it was alarming, she quite liked the feeling.

"I think I am." She whispered back, staring strangely into her tea. Longbottom gave the goofy smile she'd learn to love.

"Well, that's splendid!" He claimed and she chuckled.

"Yeah, I know right, who would have thought? Aya Reeds, happy." She joked. He was quiet for a moment before taking her hand again.

"You deserve to be happy, you know that right?" His words made her heart jump as she felt his warm fingers dancing with hers, leaving her breathless. What was happening?

"No, Ne- I mean Longbottom, I'm a bad person." She stuttered, studying his gentle eyes with confusion. God, those eyes. Those rich orbs of chocolate that reflected the sunset outside, making him look heavenly. His lips always sported the most beautiful and sincere smiles she had ever seen. Before he could reply, they heard running footsteps and the face of Velda Casey appeared from behind the bookshelves. She didn't waste time as she ran to Aya, grabbing her arm and tugging her up.

"Velda, what are you..?" She tried to pull back but Velda was a lot stronger than her. She didn't even spare Longbottom a glance as she dragged her away from him.

"No time to explain, we have to go." She panted, forcibly making her walk faster. Aya managed to shoot Longbottom an apologetic and slightly confused look before she lost sight of him.

* * *

"Will you just tell me where we're going?!" Velda had dragged her all the way to the grounds, and she wasn't stopping. The sky was getting dark and Aya was more than worried as to why they were here. The snow under their feet made their march even more silent, until Velda finally gave her an answer.

"You know, it was a good plan, but it was going too slow, you needed a push." She grunted, still holding the steel-like grip on her arm. Dread filled her whole as she processed her words.

"What? …Vel what did you do?" She breathed. She didn't….she wouldn't…

"I decided to be the one to push you... I wrote your Aunt." Her voice was cold but cracked at the last word. Aya's feet rooted on the spot and for the first time, Velda let her stop. _No._

"WHAT?!" she all but yelled. Velda winced but tried to keep calm.

"It's for your own good. She's waiting outside the grounds, she wants you to meet our Lord." Despite her calmness, she could see unshed tears in her eyes, and she knew why. Why would she do this to her?! She could feel tears well up in her own eyes as it became hard to breathe.

"Vel…yo-you are aware of what will happen should I fail this?" Her voice shook with the rest of her body as took in the situation she was in. This was bad, so, so bad.

"You're not going to fail. I believe in you." Damn her and everything she stands for. How dare she?! She had never felt so much…betrayal. A person she used to call a friend was all but sending her to her death. She wasn't sure if she was cold because of the weather or the ice that grew inside of her.

"I can't believe you did this to me." Anger replaced her fear, and she could see a tear slip down Velda's cheek. Her voice raised as she looked at with utter disgust. "How dare you cry, you little shi-"

"I did it for you! I was panicking! I got news they were recruiting students! What if they heard about your friendship with Longbottom and took it the wrong way?! You'd be killed on the spot just like your-"

"Stop it! You have no right to fear for my life, you left it." She spit at her. The cold wind was biting at her cheeks and closed her eyes trying to think.

Velda sold her out. Her aunt was here. She was going to meet the man, the monster, who was destroying the world. They knew about Longbottom, their friendship. She gulped.

This was bad.

* * *

She had never felt so much anger and fear in her life. Not even when her parents died. Then she was just…numb. She knew, in some way, that they were doomed. They were not like the others, they were unsure and jumpy, and with the war brewing, it was only a matter of time. She accepted it and just cried.

Now, she was conflicted. She couldn't become a Death Eater, so she'll be killed, simple as that. Or, become a Death Eater and try to run, like her parents.

For some reason she couldn't find it in her to leave something as important as this.

So, she'll be killed.

"Don't look so glum, you're about to meet _The Dark Lord."_ Her aunt, the single most despiteful thing on earth, purred. Her smile made her sick.

Her gaze strayed forward to see the Malfoy Manor. She'd only been there once, as a child and as beautiful as it was, it scared her. There were too many shadows, too many secrets laying in the large house. She was used to holding a facade, but no amount of experience could keep her fear in complete check.

"Bella!" The smooth voice of Narcissa Malfoy was heard as soon as we were in the entrance. The sisters greeted each other and Aya's eyes roamed the room until she caught a figure in an archway.

Draco Malfoy.

Their eyes met. She hadn't seen him all year, had he been here the entire time? He was probably recruited. She'd never seen him so unlike himself, his stance wasn't smug, there were dark circles under his eyes and he looked paler than normal. Something shone in his eyes as he recognized her, something desperate.

Before she could figure it out, they were all ushered down a dark hall. Paintings of ancient Pure-bloods were perfectly lined on the walls, their eyes following their every move. Stopping in front of a large door, Mrs. Malfoy took a deep breath and looked at her.

"He's waiting for you." She whispered, her figure nervous and sympathy shone through her eyes. Narcissa had always been kind to her. Looking to her side, she locked eyes with Draco again, something growing inside her through the fear, something she felt when gaining detentions, something that kept her face strong and her body from shaking too much. Draco saw it too, judging from the surprised look on his face. Sucking in a breath, she opened the door.

* * *

 _Sorry for the cliffhanger! Let me know if you guys like this :)_


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